Thursday, January 18, 2018

Rates spiked more than normal yesterday and then repeated the feat today. Combine that with weakness in underlying bond markets (which drive mortgage rates) that began on Tuesday afternoon, and the average lender is roughly an eighth of a percentage point higher in rate today. Freddie's headline of 4.04% is the stuff of dreams as far as most borrowers are concerned. While rates near 4.0% are available in some of the best cases, the average top-tier quote is now easily 4.125% and many lenders are up to 4.25%. If you're not putting 20% down or have less than perfect qualifications, it would be even higher. [30YR FIXED - 4.125%-4.25%]

Like yesterday, these are the highest rates in more than 9 months.emphasis added

Friday:
• At 10:00 AM ET, University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Preliminary for January). The consensus is for a reading of 97.0, up from 95.9.